5/7/2013 12:50 AM PDT

EXCLUSIVE

The "Dr. Phil" show is royally pissed off at a media outlet that allegedly stole its thunder by publishing footage of his exclusive interview with the dude who hoaxed Manti Te'o BEFORE it aired on Phil's own show ... in fact Phil's so pissed off he's suing.

You may recall ... Phil landed an exclusive interview with Ronaiah Tuiasosopo -- the guy who created a fictional GF for Manti. Phil's interview was a 2 parter. The cliffhanger in part 1 was that Ronaiah would "do the voice" of the phantom girlfriend during part 2.

According to the suit filed by Dr. Phil's company -- Peteski Productions -- immediately after part 2 aired in a few TV markets ... Deadspin posted footage of Ronaiah doing the voice without permission. Phil believes it was thievery, because the show hadn't aired in 98% of the country.

Phil claims ratings significantly suffered as a result of Deadspin's actions.

So Phil is suing Gawker Media, which owns Deadspin, for unspecified damages.

2/1/2013 9:45 AM PST

Ronaiah Tuiasosopo performed his "Lennay Kekua" voice for Dr. Phil ... re-performing the same voicemails he left for Manti Te'o ... but from behind a curtain.

Dr. Phil gave Ronaiah the curtain because Tuiasosopo said he felt uncomfortable doing it in public ... and the curtain gave him a false sense of privacy he needed to get back into character.

During the episode that airs today, Tuiasosopo not only read the voicemails ... but also called a producer for the show on the phone ... simulating the same conditions of the original voicemails he left Te'o.

Experts for the show concluded the voices were a match.

Tuiasosopo also revealed he was molested as a child ... and says he concocted the online hoax as a way to escape from his real life.

Ronaiah replied, "If you look at this situation and everything that I've been through, I would say yeah I'm gay. But honestly I'm so confused."

Ronaiah -- who admitted he had deeply romantic feelings for Manti -- added, "It takes a lot of courage to recover from homosexuality and this type of thing and coming back to your real life. As hard of a task it is, I'm going to do all I can to live right."

Dr. Phil was blown away by Ronaiah's response, saying, "This is for another time, but I have so much to say to you about what you just said, because a lot of it bothers me so much." He added, "But we will talk about that another time."

1/30/2013 12:20 PM PST

EXCLUSIVE

Ronaiah Tuiasosopo -- the man behind the Manti Te'o hoax -- is telling friends he felt compelled to create a "fantasy world" for himself because he felt crushing social pressure from 3 major forces in his life ... TMZ has learned.

We already know Ronaiah thinks he might be gay because he fell in love with Manti while pretending to be the fictional "Lennay Kekua" ... and told Dr. Phil he's "confused" about his sexuality.

But sources close to Ronaiah tell TMZ ... he was always afraid to explore his sexuality fearing scorn and ridicule from the Samoan community, his church community and the football community. At an early age, we're told Ronaiah created a private world for himself, that was not rooted in reality.

Besides playing high school football, Ronaiah's family is a VERY football-centric group -- with several members having played in the NFL.

Instead, we're told Ronaiah created a female character, like Lennay, to interact with men through her ... because instead of feeling guilt about his sexuality, he could chalk it all up to make-believe.

Ronaiah is now seeing a therapist -- not Dr. Phil -- and we're told he's finally dealing with the issues he's been avoiding for most of his adult life.

Manti also revealed Ronaiah Tuiasosopo's full confession, which Ronaiah sent via Twitter, saying, "I completely accept the consequences to the pain I've caused and it's important that you know the entire truth before anyone else."

Katie played Lennay's voicemails -- and Manti replied, "Sounds like a woman. Incredible talent to do."

1/24/2013 11:00 AM PST

Ronaiah Tuiasosopo had intense feelings for Manti Te'o ... feelings that developed over time that he channeled through a female persona, but the emotions -- like the scam -- were rooted in fantasy.

Sources very close to Ronaiah tell TMZ ... he struggled for years trying to adapt to the expectations of his culture, his religion and his family. Ronaiah, we're told, never had a serious physical relationship with anyone and created a female persona online as a way to vent his feelings.

We're told Ronaiah used the female persona in many encounters, but so far there's no evidence he became intensely emotionally attached to anyone -- until Manti. We've confirmed when Ronaiah spoke with Manti as "Lennay Kekua" he used his own voice.

Indeed ... Ronaiah's feelings became so intense, he blew his cover on December 6 because it was hard to walk away. He never intended to reveal Manti was actually talking to a man ... he just wanted to reconnect with Manti, but still as a woman.

Our sources say Ronaiah has buried his feelings to the point he has little emotion about anything. We're told even the scandal has not produced intense emotions.

We're told, Ronaiah shut down emotionally at a very young age. He lived his life through fantasy.

1/24/2013 9:52 AM PST

Breaking News

Manti Te'o has released 3 voicemails he claims he received from "Lennay Kekua" during the hoax -- in which Lennay comes off as a very jealous ... and very emotional person.

The first VM was supposedly left on Manti's phone right before she began her first round of chemotherapy for the fake cancer. During the call, Lennay says, "Just wanted to call you and keep you posted ... I miss you, I love you ... bye."

FYI -- TMZ has confirmed the person doing the voice of Lennay on the voicemails is Ronaiah Tuiasosopo.

Call #2 is a sobbing mess ... in which Lennay accuses Manti of having another girl in his room. Lennay tells Manti, "I don't know why you don't answer your phone ... and I don't care."

She continues, "This is my last time trying ... you made it clear what you want."

Manti claims Call #3 was placed on September 11, 2012 -- the day before she supposedly died.

She adds, "I know that you’re probably doing homework or you’re with the boys, or grubbing, what a fatty. I just want to say I love you and goodnight and I’ll be okay tonight, I’ll do my best. So, yeah, get your rest and I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I love you so much hun, sweet dreams."

Manti released the voicemails to Katie Couric -- and will discuss them during his sit-down interview on her talk show.